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Impact Of Agricultural Market Reforms On Smallholder Farmers In ...

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little or no costs) and a smaller importance of commercial enterprises (for which costs are large<br />

relative to gross revenue). Third, the question requires respondents to recall income flows over the<br />

past year for all household members, something that is difficult to do when income varies by<br />

season, when income is earned by various household members, and when there are multiple sources<br />

of income.<br />

With these qualifications in mind, the results indicate that farm households rely on a variety of<br />

income sources. Almost all households (93 percent) have some crop sales, a majority have<br />

livestock or animal product sales, and slightly more than half earn income from non-farm<br />

enterprises. Roughly one household in five earns money from agricultural wages and a similar<br />

proportion earns wages outside of agriculture. The average farm household in Bénin earns income<br />

from 2.6 of the 8 income sources (see Table 4.1.19).<br />

Over half of the gross cash income (57 percent) comes from crop sales. The second largest source<br />

of income is non-farm enterprises, which contribute 17 percent of the total. Although a majority of<br />

households have income from livestock (including the sale of animal products), this source<br />

contributes just 7 percent of gross cash income. <strong>Agricultural</strong> and non-agricultural wages are earned<br />

by similar numbers of households (18 and 21 percent, respectively), but non-agricultural wages<br />

contribute twice as much to overall income (7 percent compared to 3 percent o of the total). This<br />

reflects the fact that non-agricultural wages generally provide higher wages and more hours of work<br />

per year (see Table 4.1.19).<br />

<strong>In</strong> every department, the share of households with crop sales is over 85 percent. Somewhat<br />

surprisingly, the proportion of households earning income from livestock sales is highest in<br />

Atlantique. Although farmers in this department are not large-scale livestock producers, apparently<br />

the proximity of large urban markets makes the sale of animal products (including eggs) quite<br />

common. The proportion of households with non-farm enterprises is greatest in Ouémé and<br />

Atlantique. These figures include large numbers of traders that work in the urban centers and<br />

cross-border trade with Nigeria. <strong>Agricultural</strong> wages are earned by 20-27 percent of the households<br />

in all departments except Atlantique and Mono, where the percentages are much lower. Just 1<br />

percent of the household in Atlantique report income from agricultural wages, presumably due to<br />

better opportunities in the non-agricultural sector (see Table 4.1.20).<br />

Although almost all households report crop sale income, the importance of that income varies from<br />

one department to another. It is greatest in Zou (76 percent of total income) and smallest in Ouémé<br />

42

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